Community

Thanks for your comments and totally with you

Yes Roger your right this BLOG was written before the news broke

However if the shareholders vote against this Government plan i fear that they will lose their company as more Banks fail or are merged with others as the shareprice drops even further.

A price is better than no price!

Thank you for your comment Steve

Yes i think there will be some changes in the banking sector to fill gaps left after the crisis. There is a narrowing gap between some companies and the market and it would be simple for some firms to move into it. Virgin is one that has been hovering and could make a bigger move. I suspect that many firms will wait and see what regulatory changes are forthcoming after the crisis and what new capital requirements will be

Sorry Roger

As a banking shareholder myself its the risk all shareholders take. The issue is far beyond shareholders I am afraid and we will have to swallow the pill and hope for the best. Perhaps learn by the experience that shares are risky and will go up and down.

Thank you for this comment

An update

In an effort to get the continuous phone calls stopped, a  meeting was arranged with the HSBC bank manager, who actually sympathised concerning the call centre. His own personal feelings were that he sympathised and that the standard of people in the call centres left a lot to be desired but that there was nothing he could do about it. Also as a payment had been made, due to the graduate getting a loan from another source, he was clearly making an effort to clear the excess. Hurrah! He actually agreed to rebate the additional bank charges which were exacerbating the situation (excluding the annual charge) putting the account almost back within its overdraft limit. Sanity had prevailed!

But a further payment had to be made to reduce the overdraft so it would fall below the agreed limit. A suggestion was made that a small payment made each month would prevent further phone calls. It seems that the local branch had no power to stop these.

It remains to be seen whether the graduate takes up your suggestion to change banks, if so perhaps he will take up your suggestion of a goodbye gesture and another fine example of "How not to deliver Customer Service" will bite the dust!

Thanks for these comments

Nationalisation might be the quickest way to restore confidence. The problem with punching money into banks is that the traders can keep playing the market knowing that there is loads more money the is available.

Would it be a bad thing if all governments bought some banks merged them and we all moved on?

Markets will find its own level and it is not certain that governments buying bank shares as a prop will have much effect. Economies are where the war needs to be won and that starts on Main Street

Thank you Stanley

Perhaps we should start a campaign !I know the Securities Investment Institute will be pushing this hard and champion ethics in our industry

Thank you for your comment

I dont think Lehman is the last to go and a big hole in FS is going to be produced and i think it will be filled but by who?

Water,Electricity and Gas could be added?

Thank you Hubert

Yes, the fear and uncertainty created by governments letting some firms go to the wall but supporting others did not help much.

There is a clear difference between governments pumping tax payers money into the market and the confidence investors need to remain supportive and we are now in a really terrifying phase, where the market will find its own level, no matter what action is taken. It is a time to stick together and not panic or the problems we are all facing will escalate dramatically.